Man sentenced to 7 years in Prison for withholding erroneously sent money

Mombasa, 

Friday, 19 July, 2024 

McCreadie Andias 

A 27-year old man has been sentenced to 7 years in Prison for withholding Ksh. 200,000 which was erroneously sent to his Mpesa account by an unknown person.

Samuel Mwithiga Wanjiku pleaded guilty of the charges before Mombasa senior resident magistrate David Odhiambo. 

Mwithiga stated that on June 14, 2024, he had received the M-Pesa amount and later deceived his family that he had won a lottery.He then proceeded to buy a motorcycle, opened a hair salon for his wife, and gifted his mother Ksh50,000.

He further admitted to the court that he blocked the sender of the money on his M-Pesa due to his frequent calls demanding a refund of the money.

“After l received the money, I blocked the sender and bought myself a Boda Boda since l had been employed by someone else as a rider, but after my family inquired about the source of the money, l told them l had won a lottery,” Mwithiga told the court. 

Wanjiku has been charged with intentionally withholding payment delivered erroneously contrary to section 35 of the Computer Misuse/Cyber Crime Act 2018 following his arrest in Nyandarua by detectives.

The money had originally been transferred by the complainant from Texas, USA intended for Phina Habare Buya in Kenya .

During sentencing, magistrate Odhiambo emphasized the seriousness of Wanjiku’s offense, noting the deliberate nature of his actions and the impact on the intended recipient.

The convict has been given a period of 14 days to lodge an appeal against the sentence.